Great Valley restarting language program next week

After a one-year lull, the Great Valley School District English as a Second Language program for parents and extended family members of its students will restart on April 22.

Due to budget-based administration reorganization and downsizing, the program didn’t happen last year.

“Things have settled down since then, and it’s something we’ve been able to revive again,” Great Valley Assistant Superintendent Dan Goffredo said. “We’re pleased to be able to offer it.”

The free classes will be on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Great Valley administration building, 47 Church Road, Malvern. They will run until June 17.

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Significant demographic changes within the district have intensified the need for the program.

“Our schools are much more diverse than they were 10 years ago, or even five years ago,” Goffredo said. “We certainly recognize the need as the Great Valley community has changed. We always want to support the children in our schools, but also the parents and families in terms of learning the language.”

Goffredo said he has seen foreign transplanted families in which the child was more proficient than their parents in English, and vice versa. He recalled a Japanese family that moved in recently, in which the father had good language skills through his business work, but the rest of the family was playing catch-up.

Other than learning English, Goffredo believes there is another important benefit to the program.

“We want our families who are attending these classes feeling more comfortable about coming out to our schools and to events,” Goffredo said. “We hope by learning the language and coming out to see us and the facilities, that they will feel more included in the community and more likely to engage in and participate in their child’s education.”

For the first time, the program will be coordinated with Delaware County Community College.

“It really is a perfect partnership for what we’re trying to do,” Goffredo said.

A Great Valley teacher and students will provide free babysitting for children ages 3 and above, with lesson instruction and playtime.

For more information, call Andrea Vaughn at (484) 237-6245 or e-mail to avaughn@dccc.edu.